Why join the course?

This short, free online course will introduce you to studying life sciences at university level.

We’ll take you on a whistle stop tour of the exciting world of life sciences, exploring the vast array of subjects within the discipline – from anatomy to zoology and everything in between, including immunology, cellular and molecular biology, genetics, physiology and parasitology.

Find out what it’s like to study and work in life sciences

You’ll also hear from individuals working in a range of different life sciences career areas, including basic, field and applied research, scientific communication, teaching and science writing.

You’ll also get lots of tips on preparing your university application, adjusting to life at university and securing that first life sciences job.

By the end of the two weeks, you’ll:

be aware of the variety of branches of life sciences;

be confident making a university application to study life sciences;

be able to describe some of the career pathways open to you as a life sciences graduate;

and have met other people on the same journey of exploration into life sciences.

Learn with the University of Glasgow – a life sciences centre of excellence

So You Want to Study the Life Sciences? has been developed by the University of Glasgow – a centre of excellence for many branches of life sciences.

On the course, you’ll learn with Leah Marks, Maria Jackson and a team of educators who, between them, have extensive experience across life sciences disciplines, including biochemistry, genetics, and cellular and molecular biology.You’ll follow the progress of student Kevin as he decides which subject to study at university.

0:07Skip to 0 minutes and 7 secondsKEVIN GLASGOW: Have you ever wondered what it's like to study the fundamental building blocks of life, from the tiniest components that you couldn't even see under a normal microscope, to the opposite extreme, organisms so large that even getting close enough to them can be a challenge in itself? In the two weeks of this course, we're hoping to explore what it means to be a life scientist-- to study life itself, and to talk about where that study can take you. We'll speak to people working a wide range of careers, from a geneticist helping to diagnose complex conditions that have eluded scientists for decades, to a zoologist who is returning from field work in Tanzania.

0:41Skip to 0 minutes and 41 seconds Whether you're fascinated by life at the bottom of the ocean, or under the most extreme conditions that the human body can tolerate, whether human anatomy, or parasite survival is what captivates your interest, join us on this exciting journey. Glasgow University is an ideal place to begin this journey, due to its record in the area of life sciences. Here, world class research is intertwined with teaching excellence to give students the best possible learning environment. We hope that by the end of this course, you'll be as excited about the wonders of life as we are. And we'll have a better idea of how to follow a path of discovery in the life sciences.

If you’re taking a course for free you have access to the course for its duration + 14 days, regardless of when you join. If you upgrade the course you have access for as long as the course exists on FutureLearn.